CNN, Politico, and MS NOW announced they will file a lawsuit against the Trump administration after being barred from the White House. President Donald Trump announced the ban on Friday, accusing the organizations of publishing "fiction or lies" about his administration. The media outlets stated that their reporters were denied access to the White House on Saturday.
In a joint statement released on Monday, the organizations indicated that they are pursuing legal action to "protect our First Amendment rights and defend the principle that the government does not decide what the press reports." Trump later posted on Truth Social, asserting that the White House was not "instituting an assault on the Free Press" and was targeting "FAKE NEWS."
The First Amendment prohibits the government from "abridging" the freedom of the press, a principle that courts have interpreted as preventing discrimination against media based on their coverage content.
The joint statement from CNN, Politico, and MS NOW continued: "Without notice or process, the White House revoked our journalists' credentials because it objected to our reporting. Left unchallenged, this threatens press freedom and the public's right to independent journalism free from government interference."
BBC News has requested a comment from the White House regarding the situation. Trump did not specify which stories prompted the ban but mentioned that it was due to "cumulative stories over the last few years." He also suggested that there "may be others to join them" in the ban.
When asked about this statement, Trump referred to other outlets, including the New York Times and the Washington Post, as "fake news."
CNN, one of five US news outlets in the White House press pool for live television, was scheduled to cover Trump's trip to the UN General Assembly in New York on Monday and Tuesday. However, the pool slot has remained vacant, with the conservative outlet Real America's Voice listed as the "secondary" crew for the trip.
The press pool serves as a representative for the media, sharing material with other outlets to reduce costs and space when covering presidential events. In February, the White House announced it would take control of the press pool, which had been managed by the White House Correspondents' Association for over a century.
In the same month, the administration restricted Associated Press (AP) reporters and photographers from certain areas, such as the Oval Office or Air Force One, due to the outlet's terminology regarding the Gulf of Mexico. AP has filed a lawsuit in response, which is still ongoing.
Trump has frequently criticized news organizations and has initiated legal actions against several outlets, including the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and the BBC. Some lawsuits have led to media organizations agreeing to pay multimillion-dollar settlements, while Trump's lawsuit against the BBC is still in progress.